[Update: When researching this story, I failed to notice that these videos were created “on spec,” meaning that they were shot with the hope of being sold to Sony. They are not official ads and, God willing, they never will be. I apologize profusely for this error.]
This… thing that you see above is an advertisement for the PS3. It is one of three such videos recently released to the internet, all featuring the fictional Gamer Eyes product and lots of nicely focused shots of Sony hardware. The videos were created by Avyan Productions as part of a “branded content campaign,” presumably as another stab at viral marketing.
It’s been a while since I’ve been able to ask this question about Sony marketing, so I’m going to savor it a little bit: Who the hell thought this was a good idea? You have children with things fused to their faces which bleed while they alternate between being cheerful and comatose? You really want to suggest potential health risks associated with videogames? Are you out of your freaking minds?
You can view the other two videos below. The last is an ad in the vein of the big-eyed African kids on late night TV, which has an actual number you can dial. Unfortunately, instead of getting some “clever” additional marketing, the number goes to a eyecare company based in Alabama. Smooth, guys. Batting 1000 here.
